JPS6332785Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed explanation of the idea] <Industrial application field> The present invention relates to a steering direction display device for an automobile.

In automobiles, etc., there are cases in which it is desired to know the turning angle of the wheels. For example, when parking cars in a garage or in tandem, if the driver knows the direction of the wheels, he or she will be able to park accurately, and will also avoid starting a parked car with its wheels bent and running onto a curb. Furthermore, it is useful for steering operations on so-called 4WD and 4WS vehicles on mountain roads with many curves and roads with a small turning radius.

Therefore, as shown in Utility Model Application Publication No. 54-128221,
A system has been devised in which the rotation of the steering wheel shaft is reduced by a gear device, and this is transmitted to the upper surface of the steering wheel through the inside of the boss of the steering wheel, and the steering status is displayed here.

Further, in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 50-74093, a ring gear with one feed tooth attached to the lower part of the steering wheel is provided as a steering direction display device, a pinion is meshed with this, and the steering direction is indicated to the pinion. The display plate is fixed and rotatably supported on a mount, and the teeth of the pinion are arranged so that the ring gear rotates once. The teeth are arranged at predetermined intervals so that one tooth is fed each time the tooth is fed, and at the same time the next tooth is placed in a position where it meshes with the feed dog. It is said to be a tooth type.

<Problems to be solved by the invention> However, in the former case, the overall height of the gear device is high, and a part of the gear device is located in the center of the steering wheel, so a device with a flasher switch under the steering wheel does not have a steering direction display device. It is difficult to install the handlebar boss, and the structure of the handle boss is complicated, resulting in high cost.

In addition, the latter uses a special tooth-shaped pinion, and the movement of the display board is intermittent as the pinion moves one tooth each time the steering wheel is rotated. The problem is that it is not suitable for use in motor boats, etc., where the steering status is not displayed and only the neutral position of the steering wheel is displayed, but it is not suitable for use in automobiles, where it is necessary to continuously indicate the turning angle of the car's wheels. There is.

In the latter case, if you try to attach the cancel pin of the flash switch to the handle shaft, the pinion is located near the outer periphery of the shaft, so it has to be inside, making it difficult to take the torque required to cancel the switch. Moreover, if the torque is to be satisfied, the diameter of the pinion arrangement becomes too large, which is impractical.

In view of the above, the present invention is a steering direction indicator for an automobile that can continuously and accurately indicate the direction of the wheels of an automobile, is easy to incorporate into a vehicle with a flasher switch on the steering wheel, and has a small number of parts. We will provide the equipment.

<Means for Solving the Problems> To achieve the above object, the helmsman's direction display device of the present invention has a rotary ring gear that has internal teeth between the lower surface of the boss of the handle and a display needle. A fixed ring gear having a larger number of teeth than the above-mentioned ring gear is installed coaxially with the above-mentioned ring gear at the top end of the column cover, and a two-stage planetary gear in which each stage meshes with each of the above-mentioned ring gears is used as a rotating cancel pin for the flasher switch. It is rotatably supported on the handle boss by a shaft.

<Operation> In the present invention having the above configuration, when the handle is operated, the lower stage of the planetary gear 5 engages with the fixed ring gear 2a and rotates while revolving around itself, and the upper stage gear engages with the internal teeth 7b of the rotary ring gear 7 and rotates. The steering state of the wheels is displayed by the display hand 7a.

<Example> An example of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the present invention, a ring gear 2a is installed inside the column 1.
A column cover 2 having a display plate 2b provided thereon is attached, and a fixed ring gear 2a is provided inside the top end of the column cover 2, and the fixed ring gear 2a is installed between the top end of the column cover 2 and the lower surface of the handle boss portion 3a.
A rotary ring gear 7 having a smaller diameter internal tooth 7b and a display hand 7a is rotatably interposed.
On the other hand, a pin 4 is screwed onto the lower surface of the boss portion 3a of the handle 3, and a planetary gear 5 with two stages of different diameters (the upper one being the smaller diameter) is inserted through the pin 4, and the pin 4 is rotatably hung by a snap ring 6. the lower gear 5a of the planetary gear 5 having a larger diameter is connected to the fixed ring gear 2a.
The upper gear 5b, which has a smaller diameter, is meshed with the internal teeth 7b of the rotary ring gear 7. In this embodiment, the planetary gear 5 can be installed in three locations to ensure reliable operation.

In addition, 8 in this embodiment is a flasher switch,
Reference numerals 9 and 9' are pins constituting a flat switch cancel member, and 10 is a handle shaft. In the present invention, at least one of the pins 4 that pivotally supports the planetary gear 5 is extended to also serve as the cancel pin 9. In the illustrated example, the cancel pin 9' does not pivotally support the planetary gear 5. With this configuration, the steering wheel direction display device and the flasher switch can be assembled compactly within a narrow space at the base of the handle.

In the automobile steering device equipped with the steering direction display device of the present invention configured as described above,
As shown in FIG. 3, when the handle 3 is rotated, for example, to the right, the planet gear 5 inserted through the pin
is meshed with two gears: the fixed ring gear 2a provided inside the top end of the column cover 2, and the internal teeth 7b of the rotary ring gear 7 having the indicator hand 7a, so that it rotates around the inner periphery of each of these gears. It revolves while

During this process, the planetary gear 5 of the present invention has different diameters for the upper and lower gears 5a, 5b, so that when the two sets of ring gears 2a, 7b mesh with them, a difference in overlapping length occurs, and the ring gear 7 with the indicator needle 7a, which has a shorter overlapping length by that difference, rotates in the right direction.

That is, in the device of the present invention, when the handle 3 is rotated, the planetary gear 5 works to decelerate this rotation, and the display hand 7a is rotated at a reduced speed in the direction of rotation, so that the display as shown in FIG. If the plate 2b is provided and the planetary gear 5 is set so that the indicator needle 7a comes to the right end R position of the indicator plate 2b when the steering wheel 3 is turned all the way to the right, the driver can easily control his/her vehicle at any time while steering the steering wheel. You can check the steering direction.

<Effects of the invention> As explained above, the present invention has a rotary ring gear with internal teeth and an indicator hand placed between the lower surface of the boss of the handle and a rotary ring gear coaxially with the ring gear on the top end of the column cover. A fixed ring gear with a larger number of teeth is provided, and a two-stage planetary gear in which each stage meshes with each of the ring gears is rotatably supported on the handle boss by a rotating shaft that also serves as a cancel pin of the flasher switch. , the driver can continuously and easily and accurately know the steering direction of the car he or she is driving, and can drive the car safely, and the steering direction display device of the present invention occupies less space under the steering wheel. Since it is small, the steering direction display device can be easily assembled into a narrow space at the base of the handle even when a flasher switch is installed.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, the rotating shaft of the planetary gear can also be used as the cancel pin of the flasher unit, thereby reducing the number of parts and making it easier to attach the steering direction display device to the base of the handle.

Further, according to the present invention, a highly reliable steering direction display device that has a small number of parts and is less likely to malfunction can be realized without a large increase in cost.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the steering wheel portion of a steering device equipped with the steering direction display device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the structure of the steering direction display device of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the structure of the steering direction display device of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the steering direction display device as seen from the driver's side. 1...Column, 2...Column cover, 2a...
Ring gear, 2b... Display board, 3... Handle,
3a...Boss part, 4...Pin (rotating shaft), 5...
Planetary gear, 7...Ring gear, 7a...Display hand,
8...Flash unit, 9,9'...Cancel pin.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A rotary ring gear with internal teeth and an indicator hand is sandwiched between the lower surface of the boss of the handle and a fixed ring gear having a larger number of teeth than the above-mentioned ring gear is provided at the top end of the column cover coaxially with the above-mentioned ring gear. A steering direction display device for an automobile comprising a two-stage planetary gear meshing with each ring gear and rotatably supported on a handle boss by a rotating shaft that also serves as a cancel pin of a flasher switch.